Lost Things
by whiteroses12
Summary: Mick will have to face his past when he is forced to find the one person who means everything to him...Beth. Takes place after Sleeping Beauty.
1. Chapter 1

**This will be my last story for awhile. **

**I do not own any of the characters from Moonlight. They belong to the show Moonlight on CBS which I'm not apart of. This is just written for fun so enjoy! **

** LOST THINGS **

Every person in the world has their own special objects or people they can't live without. You know those things that make the world go round. The ipod, the computer, or maybe it's the precious smile of the person you love most in your life. Everything might not be perfect with these things around but with them you know you'll make it. Things will be ok as long as you have these objects or these special people in your life, but what happens when you lose them?

20 years ago….

The eight year old Sarah Nelson held tightly to her mother's cold hand as they rushed down the street. Her mother walked swiftly and her movements were strange; strange like they had been the last few days. With every person they passed her mother looked as if she wanted something from them, but was too confused or scared to ask them. "Are you ok mommy?" Sarah asked.

Surprised, Sarah's mother glared down at her with lust in her eyes. Then she snapped herself out of it. "Yes I'm ok honey." They stopped in front of a dark alley and Sarah saw an old man sitting on the ground far back in the alley. He was homeless. Sarah noticed her mother's breathing began to pick up. Roughly, her mother dragged her into the alley to an old dumpster, and knelt down to tell Sarah something. "Listen I want you to hide right here behind the dumpster, and no matter what you hear don't look toward me. Do you understand?" Sarah nodded and her mother jumped up and ventured further down the alley to the old man.

Sarah's mother walked swiftly to the old homeless man. She didn't know what was going on with her, but she desired something, something she knew she could only get from killing. The feeling consumed every ounce of her burning her to her core and she wanted something to quench that unbearable fire and stop that terrible thirst, and it took every bit of energy she had to control herself. Only moment's before she had wanted to bite her own daughter and remove that precious substance from the person she loved most. "Can I help you?" the homeless man asked her as she approached.

Immediately she could feel the pulsing of his warm blood, and every beat of his heart pulled her closer to him. "Yeah," she muttered before she attacked him. The warmth of the blood filled her body with the most wondrous sensations. She felt feelings she didn't even know existed, but it was a moment short lived. A strong hand grabbed her jacket and she was thrown back into the brick wall. Fuming, she looked up to see a tall man that looked about thirty. He was so handsome it would be a shame to rip apart his perfect face.

"I can't let you kill this man," announced the mysterious stranger in a beautiful voice. Livid, she growled at him and showed her fangs, but was surprised when his eyes turned a snowy white and sharp white fangs appeared.

Even angrier, she jumped at him, but he knew what he was doing. Quickly, he pulled out a stake and pushed it through the woman's heart. She fell to the ground, limp. Sighing, he pulled out a long sword he had attached to his pants. "I'm sorry to have to do this, but it's what has to be done." Then swiftly, he brought the sword down on the woman's neck severing her head. A sad look came over his handsome face, and then he turned toward the street when he heard small footsteps.

Sarah looked from the limp and headless body of her mother to the man staring at her with snowy white eyes and long fangs. Sarah noticed a long bloody sword in his hand. The man had killed her mother. His magnificent eyes were focused on her and the look scared her. Then the eyes and the fangs disappeared and he looked normal. "I'm sorry about this, but your mother was out of control." Then he ran off and disappeared into the darkness of the night.

Present day….

Sarah awoke suddenly from the nightmare. It had been twenty years since that day happened and every night since then she had the same dream. Every night she saw her mother's headless body and the man with the magnificent eyes. Now she knew that man was named Mick St. John and that he was a vampire which explained the fangs and the eyes. She could never forget the image of him standing there glaring at her with those eyes. This monster had ruined her life and she was about to get her revenge…

"So what's happening?" she asked Rick who was driving the van. They had been following the woman known as Beth Turner all night, and now it was early morning, and Sarah hadn't gotten any sleep until just a few moments before.

"She's just now coming out of the building," answered Mark who was in the back. Mark and Rick were both brothers and friends of Sarah's since they were children. They were muscular guys and shouldn't have trouble picking up a small woman like Beth Turner. Plus this was the perfect area; there were very few people around at this early hour so no one would notice if Miss Turner were to suddenly disappear.

Beth walked angrily out of Josh's apartment building. They had just gotten in a big fight about her going to New York with Mick. She hated getting into fights with him because they weren't really fights. Josh would not even raise his voice or really even seem all that angry. He would just get that disappointed look in his eyes and have the sad disappointed voice when he told her what she did wrong. She hated it! She would rather him blow up and be furious with her than just be disappointed. The only thing worse than having someone angry with you is having them disappointed in you especially when the person disappointed is someone you truly care about.

Beth glanced over at a large white van that was driving slowly toward the sidewalk she was walking on. She was growing increasingly suspicious of it. Suddenly, the door opened and a masked man jumped out and grabbed her. She didn't even have time to scream before she was locked inside the dark van.

Mick awoke to loud and hard knocking on his front door. Annoyed, he pushed open the freezer and quickly threw some clothes on. "I'm coming!" he called as made his way down the stairs. It was just now twilight, and he wondered if it was Beth. The knocking on the door grew louder.

He threw open the door to see Josh standing there with a worried look on his face. "Wow wasn't expecting you," muttered Mick. In the few moments he had spent with Josh he could easily sense that the man hated him. Of course it would be a lie to say Mick was in love with the guy.

Josh rolled his eyes and rushed into the apartment. "I didn't want to come, but I've been left with no other options. I need you to help me find someone," explained Josh. He had a desperate and tired look on his face.

Mick rubbed his eyes to wake up a little. He didn't particularly want to do anything for this man, but he had the time to listen. "Ok who do you want me to find?" he asked without much curiosity.

"Beth," answered Josh.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the review! Please enjoy! **

**Lost Things-Chapter 2**

"What?" muttered Mick in surprise. He had to hear Josh say it again just to be sure he'd heard the words correctly.

"Beth's missing, I need you to find her," repeated Josh. His eyes were wide with seriousness and fear.

Mick's head began to spin forcing him to take a seat on the couch. Beth was missing, the person he could not even comprehend living without, was gone. This could not be happening he thought. He buried his face in his hands. "How could this happen?" he asked Josh looking up at the man, confused.

Josh shrugged his shoulders. "She and I got into a fight early this morning she stormed out and when I called her house to check on her she didn't answer. I called her cell phone and still no answer. Then I called BuzzWire and they said she hadn't come in this morning, and when I went outside I noticed her car was still in the parking lot. She didn't even have the time to leave. After that I called the police and they're doing all they can, but there's not much they can do without any evidence."

"There's no evidence?"

Josh shook his head and flopped down on one of Mick's chairs. "No witnesses, no nothing. No one saw what happened to her. The police are stumped and so I'm forced to come to you. I figured you would never say no to this," explained Josh.

Well anybody in the world could figure that out. Josh would not be getting a gold star for that conclusion. "What were you fighting about?" asked Mick looking toward Josh.

Josh felt a twinge of anger surge through his body when he thought of the intense argument or rather disagreement he and Beth had had. It had all been because she was spending a little too much time with the man that now sat before him. Normally he would have been a nice guy and lied, but he had no intention about being kind to this man. "You…we were fighting about you."

Mick wasn't surprised. He knew Beth and Josh weren't getting along too well because of him, and he didn't particularly like Josh but he didn't hate him. So there was no use in prolonging the conversation with him. Beth was missing and he had to find her and quick.

-----

Beth awoke in a cold dark room looking up at the magnificent moon shining on her. Startled, she jolted up and took in her surroundings in fear. She was in some strange room that was like a cage. She could see the sky and hear the sounds of the night, but she could not get out because the ceiling of the room was like the top of a sewer. Around her everything was dark except for the small circle of light from the moon she sat in.

Her breathing picked up as she recalled the events of the night before. She had been kidnapped, forced inside a truck and from there she couldn't remember a thing. Slowly, she stood up. The cage like ceiling prevented her from standing at her full height. She used her hands to look for the wall, and was startled when she felt the cold metal against her skin. It felt old and rusted and she brought her hand back to her side.

There was no use looking for a door in the place. It was completely dark and there was no telling what else was in the room with her. She noticed her purse was gone and so she couldn't use her phone. The only thing she could do was scream. "HELP!" she yelled. Her heart rate was rising in fear. "HELP!" she screamed again hoping someone, anyone would hear her.

"It's no use, no one can hear you." Beth's heart almost stopped when she heard that voice. She knew that voice, but it was a voice she really hoped she'd never hear again.

---

Mick stood outside Josh's apartment building examining the sidewalk. The doorman had not been around when Beth came outside and the worker at the front desk said she had seen Beth storm outside at about 6 AM. Mick noticed Beth's car was in the parking lot. So somewhere between the door and her car she had been taken. There had to be evidence around here somewhere. Someone cannot just disappear. Beth was taken by someone and that meant there had to be evidence. No one is perfect and whoever took Beth left something behind. It was just finding it that was the hard part.

Near the sidewalk Mick noticed tire tracks. It was a road so the police must have thought they were from some other time, but Mick with his heightened senses could tell they were new. Someone had driven off from this scene pretty quickly and very recently. He knelt down and felt the tracks. Even still the could feel the warmth of them. Whoever was driving this car had taken Beth.

His eyes examined the area taking in everything down to the dirt on the ground. Then he noticed a small used cigarette lying a few feet away from the tire tracks. Carefully, he picked it up and smelled the scent of a male on the end. It was fresh like the tire tracks. Hopefully he could get it tested for DNA and find out who it came from. It would just take time. He slid the cigarette carefully into an evidence bag.

Josh then came waltzing out of the building eager to see what Mick had found. "Did you find anything?" he asked when he reached Mick.

"I found this fresh cigarette and a set of tire tracks over there." Mick pointed out the dark patterns from tires on the road. "Can you get the DNA tested?" He threw the bad to Josh.

"Yeah sure, but how did you know they're fresh?" inquired Josh. Mick could not hold back a small grin. There was so much Josh didn't know. Things that would put his mind at ease with Beth. Perhaps he wouldn't be so worried about Mick taking Beth away from him if he knew what Mick truly was, but if that happened Mick would be the one worrying. Most humans didn't take kindly to the thought of vampires around. Beth was just an unusual find.

The ringing of his cell phone startled him. "Who is it?" asked Josh. There was no way Josh would be surprised if Beth called Mick first after she'd been missing for almost twenty-four hours.

Quickly, Mick took his phone from his pocket hoping it would be Beth as well and to his surprise it was. "Where have you been?" he practically yelled into the phone.

"Wow Mick you would really talk to your girl that way?" It was a female's voice, but it wasn't Beth's. Josh stared at him with confusion.

"Who is this?" questioned Mick turning away from Josh.

The woman on the other line snickered in an evil way. "I'm the past come back to haunt you," she replied. "So you missing your girlfriend?" She sounded proud of herself, proud that she was torturing him.

"What did you do with Beth?" Anger rushed through Mick's body.

She woman sighed as if she were annoyed. "The girl's safe for now, but I don't know how long that could be. You see I've got her in a rather tough situation."

Mick's breathing began to pick up in fear and frustration. Who was this woman? Why had she taken Beth? "What kind of situation…what are you talking about?"

Again the woman laughed in that same wicked way. "Let's just say I would go check out the hospital. Beth might not be the only woman you care about that's missing." Then the line went dead.

Mick's heart stopped as he realized what she had said. Coraline! Without any care for Josh he ran as fast as he could to his car and drove off toward the hospital although he knew what he would find. The woman on the line had been pretty clear. Coraline would be missing and things would start to get a bit more complicated.

When he reached the hospital he ran inside almost knocking down everyone that got in his way, but when he got to the floor Coraline was supposed to be on he could already sense that she was not there. Slowly, he walked to her room only to find it blocked off and empty. Coraline was missing and the psycho woman on the phone had both the women that meant everything to him in her hands. Mick fell to his knees and started crying right there on the hospital floor. Without Coraline he would never find out the cure and without Beth he might as well die right there.

"Sir can I help you?" Mick looked up to see a nurse staring at him with a confused face.

"What happened to the woman in this room?" he asked trying to fight his tears.

"Well you could probably answer that question better than I could. Miss Vincent disappeared just last night," explained the nurse. "No one knows what happened to her. The police were here all night investigating it.

--

Beth was startled when she saw Coraline step gracefully into the moonlight. She was still wearing her hospital gown. "We're in the middle of the woods somewhere. Far away from anyone that could hear us," she said.

"How long have you been here?" asked Beth. Coraline took a seat on the floor facing Beth.

"One day I think…but I was too out of it to tell."

Of course Beth had another question. How was it that Coraline had even made it here alive? Last time she'd seen her she'd been nearly dead. "How are you here? I thought you were dying…"

Coraline looked down and a confused look came over her face. "I guess my cure wasn't exactly permanent."

Both of them looked up when they heard the metal door creak open. A small woman with brown hair and big brown eyes walked into the room carrying something Beth recognized as a flamethrower. Smiling wickedly, she rubbed her finger over the trigger glaring at Coraline. "I wouldn't try attacking me. Plus even if you do manage to kill me there are two guys outside ready to take your head off so the act would be useless," said the woman in a calm voice. Then she turned to Beth. "Well I'm glad to see you're both awake."

"Why did you kidnap us?" inquired Beth.

The woman smiled in a way too creepy for Beth to stand. "Revenge Miss Turner…revenge."

Beth glared at the mysterious woman, confused. She had never seen this woman before in her life. There was nothing she could have done to deserve this. Coraline, however, she was sure was a far different story. "But I haven't done anything to you," replied Beth.

"No you haven't, but a certain vampire friend of yours has," said the woman.

Beth had no idea what Mick could have possibly done to piss this woman off so much. "And what exactly did Mick do to you?" Coraline asked without a drop of fear in her mesmerizing voice.

"That's a story for another time," answered the woman.

"Then what do you want from us?" Beth asked.

"Well the both of you don't have to do anything. Just sit and wait. Hopefully Mick will find you in time," the woman said.

"Wait what do you mean in time?" Beth questioned with her fear rising again.

"Well I don't know if you no much about vampires. But Miss Coraline over there just happens to be one, and I'm sure she's rather desperate for blood. There's no telling how long she'll be able to restrain herself from getting it, and seeing as you're the only person in the room with her than I can assume she'll be going after you," explained the woman. "So now that I have you up to date with everything. I guess I'll be seeing you later." She went to the door and turned to Coraline. "Then again maybe not." Then she left the room locking the door behind her.

Beth fell to the ground in fear. Coraline sat in the moonlight across from her. Her life was in the hands of the woman who had kidnapped her when she was little. Her life was in the hands of the woman who was competing with her for Mick. Coraline had no reason to let Beth live. It was Coraline's choice. Although Beth knew that when it came down to it…there would probably be no choice at all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the reviews. Enjoy chapter 3! **

**Lost Things-Chapter 3**

Mick sat in his car rubbing his temples. _This could not be happening…it just can't be._ The lives of the two women that he cared most about were in the hands of a woman that evidently hated him, but why? He didn't recognize her voice or anything about the woman. Why would she hate him so much? Why was she torturing him?

His phone rang. Quickly, he whipped out the phone and answered it. "Why the hell are you doing this to me?" he demanded.

"Uh…Mick…this is Josh." Josh's voice on the other line sounded confused. All Mick could do was laugh at himself. This was turning out to be the worst day of his life, and he'd had a lot of bad days.

"I'm sorry Josh…I was just…nevermind. What do you want?" he asked with a deep sigh.

"Well you just took off and I wanted to know where you went," explained Josh. "I've gave the cigarette DNA, but they probably won't have it ready until tomorrow."

Mick didn't even know if Beth would have a tomorrow. "Listen Josh you need to tell them that's it's important that they hurry."

"Why is Beth in some sort of trouble?" Josh wanted to find Beth as quick as possible too but something in Mick's voice sounded urgent and worried.

Mick didn't know if he should give Josh the whole story. After all there was no doubt in his mind that this had something to do with him being a vampire. What if Josh found out? "I'm just not sure how much time she has," said Mick.

Josh was silent for a moment. He had no idea how Mick knew this. Somehow or another though this guy seemed to know everything. "How do you know that?"

Sighing, Mick debated whether to tell him or not about the phone call. Josh was in love with Beth maybe just as much as he was and he did have a right to know anything about the case. "Because I got a call from the person who kidnapped her…and…" He paused thinking about the fact that Coraline was probably wherever Beth was. That could never be a good thing. "…And it doesn't sound very good." Taking a deep gulp he waited for Josh's reply.

"You talked to the person who kidnapped her and you didn't tell me?" Josh asked angrily. Mick was quickly forgetting that Beth meant just as much to him. "Listen Mick…I love Beth and I think I deserve to know that sort of thing."

Mick sighed at the question thinking of Coraline. That was something he couldn't tell Josh without more questions arising. "Listen Josh I'm sorry about not telling you, but they told me something rather personal…something I can't tell you. If we're going to work together on this case you're going to have to stop asking so many questions. If I tell you something…just trust me ok?"

Josh shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't believe this guy! There was no way he was going to trust him. "No Mick I'm not going to trust you. If we're working together that means you share everything with me. Beth means a lot to both of us and I'm not going to lose her because you can't share your stupid secrets with me!" Then he hung up the phone.

Furious, Mick slammed his head on the steering wheel. Now he knew this was without a doubt the worst day of his life. Coraline was missing and Beth was somewhere with her plus now he was going to have Josh snooping around. His phone rang again and he didn't even want to answer. Sighing, he looked at the caller ID…it was Beth. _Ok try to stay calm Mick…just stay calm. _With caution, he answered the phone.

"Hello…" he greeted as calmly as he could.

"Well that certainly was a much better greeting than the last time…" It was the same condescending female voice from before.

"Yeah well I suppose that I better be a bit nicer to you seeing as you've got both the women I love," said Mick. His tone was cold, without emotion.

"Hmmm…it seems you're a bit smarter than I pegged you for…"

"Why are you doing this to me?" Mick asked in a defeated tone.

"Vengeance my dear…all a long awaited vengeance."

"But what did I do to deserve this? What?" His voice still sounded more sad then angry. He knew anger wasn't going to solve this problem for him.

"You ruined my life and took away what meant most to me. I'm simply returning the favor."

"Listen I'm sorry but I don't know who you are." Mick couldn't deny that he might have done something to this woman. After all he hadn't been as tamed in his past.

"Sure you do…" The woman sounded heated but still quite calm probably because she was in charge of the situation. "You remember the woman you killed in an alley twenty years ago and the little girl who watched her mother die at your hand. Well that little girl would be me."

Mick's eyes widened at the realization. He remembered that day very well, and it was something he regretted for a long time. The woman had been turned and abandoned by her sire. By the time he found her it was too late. She was too wild to tame. He had to kill her, but he hadn't known the woman's little girl was watching. It was an honest mistake. "So I see you remember now," said the woman breaking his train of thought.

"Yes…I'm sorry about what I did to you but your mother-"

"Don't you talk about her you monster! Yeah I know what you are…a vampire. I also know you're the best at what you do… you know being a private investigator. So I'm really going to put that to the test. You're missing two things that mean the most to you…let's see if you can find those lost things before it's too late." Then the line went dead.

--

Coraline watched Beth from across the room. She could feel the blood pulsing through Beth's veins. It was calling to her, and she wanted to answer but she couldn't.

"So how long do you plan to wait?" asked Beth, defeated. There was no way Coraline would fight her hunger to save Beth's life. Beth knew it and there was no reason for her to have hope.

"Excuse me?" Coraline said. She had heard Beth correctly, but she couldn't believe her tone.

"You know until you kill me? I know you must not want to wait too long…" They were sitting across the room from each other. Beth was huddled in the corner shivering from the cold, and Coraline was huddled in the other corner simply glaring at Beth wanting what only Beth could give.

Coraline was disappointed. She hadn't expected Beth to be such a quitter. "Wow you sound as if you've already given up. I never thought you were such a quitter. I must admit I'm kind of disappointed," said Coraline.

Beth glared at the beautiful woman. She couldn't tell if Coraline was being genuine or continuing with her dreadful mind games. You could never tell with her since she was so good at what she did. "I'm not in the mood for you games. I'd rather you just kill me."

Coraline snickered a little. "This is funny coming from the woman who figured out who I was and staked me. The same woman who wouldn't quit until she got what she wanted; the same woman who made such an amazing journalist simply because of her unyielding perseverance is now giving up without a fight. Now you're talking to me as if you almost want to die just because you're in a tough situation." Again Coraline laughed especially when she saw Beth's livid face. "I for one won't let this woman win so quickly."

Beth glared at Coraline, confused. The crazed vampire had truly surprised her. "So you're not going to kill me?"

Irritated, Coraline rolled her eyes. "No, I'll fight it as long as I can…"

"But what happens when you can't fight the thirst anymore." Beth knew what happened when vampires got too hungry. They could not control their actions. Mick had shown restraint when it happened to him in the desert, but he was good with control. Coraline obviously could not control herself as well as Mick could. That was a given.

"When that happens…I hope you're stronger than you just acted a few moments ago."

Beth sighed. She hoped she was too.

--

Josh sat in his office doing all he could do which was wait for the test results. It was the only evidence they had. The surveillance was wiped out…the kidnappers had planned their attack well. He had no idea how Mick found the cigarette, but he didn't really think Mick would answer him if he asked. Mick seemed very secretive about things. His phone rang and he wasn't too happy to see who it was…Mick. "Hi…what do you want?" Josh greeted rather cruelly. He wasn't too happy with this man right now.

"I want you to look up someone really quick. It involves the case," said Mick.

"Ok…who?" Josh wasn't too happy about it, but it had to do with the case so he couldn't say no.

"Linda Nelson. I want you to find out her daughter's name and what her daughter's up to these days."

Sighing, Josh massaged his temples. Mick was just getting stranger by the second. "What the hell does this have to do with the case?"

"Just trust me ok!" replied Mick.

Josh rolled his eyes, aggravated. "No! I can't trust you because I feel like you're making me do useless things! None of the crap you've given me to do seems actually relevant! Now either you give me an explanation or I won't do it…"

"Don't you want to find Beth?"

"Yes of course I do but-"

"Then search the name!" Then the line went dead.

Furious, Josh slammed the phone down on the table. He couldn't believe this guy. First he demands these ridiculous things and then he hangs up on him. Josh didn't know if he could handle this. Beth was missing and he was being forced to work with a guy that he utterly despised. Even though he was completely resentful to the idea he decided he might as well search the name. It wouldn't hurt anything but his pride, but first he wanted to search another name.

After opening the police files on the computer, he searched a name he should have looked into a long time ago. Mick St. John he typed into the search box and pressed enter. Taking a deep breath, he waited for the results.

First thing he noticed was the birth date…November 14, 1922. That didn't make any sense even if it was his father. Then he noticed something else according the records Mick was a missing person. It said he was last seen March 22, 1952. Apparently he eloped with his girlfriend Coraline and was never seen again. "This can't be right," Josh whispered as he looked at the file. Jacob St. John, his father was dead…his mother…everyone in his life was dead. Still what didn't make any sense at all was why did a guy supposedly 85 years old look like he wasn't a day over thirty?


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok this is more like a chapter to get you to chapter 5. It might seem like Coraline is out of character, but I'm going to explain everything. Please enjoy! **

**Lost Things- Chapter 4**

"I'm sorry," whispered Beth. The sun was just beginning to rise and she could now see Coraline looking really hungry on the other side of the room.

"For what?" Coraline's eyes looked tired and glassy. She wasn't in very good shape already.

"For staking you…I just really thought you were a vampire."

Coraline laughed. "We all make mistakes…" Her voice was weak and without interest in the subject. "Let's just call it even ok?"

Beth had to wince when she saw Coraline huddled in the corner, shaking. "Why are you choosing to suffer instead of killing me?" Beth couldn't believe she was saying this, but she still hadn't completely gotten rid of the idea that Coraline was playing some kind of trick. But she just didn't know what kind of trick Coraline could have devised in this sort of situation.

"I told you…"

"But that doesn't seem like a good enough reason for you to suffer like this. I mean it could all be over with if you just killed me." Coraline wasn't even looking at her as she spoke. The vampire's big eyes were closed, trying to relax.

"You need to shut up before I change my mind."

While Beth wanted to listen to her every bit of her ached to find out what Coraline seemed to be hiding. "Why won't you just answer my question?" she continued with the interrogation.

"Ah!" Angry, Coraline sat up and looked Beth in the eye. "Because I don't have to and I don't want to! End of story!" Then she crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall again.

The door opened, surprising Beth. "Here," a male voice said as a water bottle was slid into the room. The door then closed again.

"Well I guess that's for you," said Coraline with sarcasm in her voice. Beth had to notice the lack of fear or frustration Coraline was showing. Sure she sounded weak but not scared.

"You really do seem to be taking this well," mentioned Beth.

Grinning, Coraline repositioned herself. "I've been in worse situations."

Beth laughed. She couldn't believe her stupidity. Coraline was about 300 years old and probably had had quite a life. "Like what?"

Coraline's eyes shot open in annoyance. "Just shut up ok? I don't feel like talking right now!"

Beth wasn't intimidated by Coraline. Beth wasn't intimidated by anyone and didn't plan on starting now. "Ok fine then…I'm just saying we've got nothing else to do."

Coraline didn't answer.

An hour or so passed. The sun was now fully shining and the room became horribly hot. Knowing how the sun and heat had affected Mick, Beth began to worry about Coraline. Beth examined the vampire from across the room she was shaking and her skin had turned a deathly pale. Perhaps she could just give her a little bit of blood, but Beth did not trust Coraline. She might kill her, but then again Coraline would die if Beth didn't give her blood.

"I'm gonna regret this," Beth whispered before crawling over to the sick vampire.

"My gosh what do you want now?" Coraline exclaimed opening her eyes and sitting up.

Beth rolled up her sleeve and held it to Coraline's mouth. "To help," she answered.

Coraline stared at Beth's arm with lust in her eyes. She could smell the sweet blood running through Beth's veins, and she could almost feel the relief it would give her when she took it. "I don't know if I can control myself," said Coraline turning away from Beth's arm.

"Well you're going to have to," replied Beth still holding out her arm.

"You would really like that wouldn't you? To have something to hold over me?" Coraline said feeling betrayed, but then again it was probably just the heat. Heat and vampires never went well together.

"No…just take it ok before I change my mind." Beth already felt really uncomfortable about all this.

Still Coraline hesitated. She wasn't one to take charity and she never liked pity, but she desperately needed the blood. "You're sure?"

"My gosh and I thought Mick was bad about all this! Just take it or you'll die!"

"Ok…" Slowly, Coraline opened her mouth and bit into Beth's soft skin. Immediately she felt the pain in her body subside. The blood tasted so good and she didn't want to stop.

Beth gasped at the pain. It was nothing like it had been with Mick. Then she had felt more comfortable, but there was no telling if Coraline would stop before it was too late. When she felt herself losing consciousness she tried to pull her arm away from Coraline, but the vampire had a strong grip. "Stop…" demanded Beth as she felt her strength diminish and still Coraline continued. Gathering all her strength, Beth screamed louder, "STOP!"

Finally Coraline realized her grip and Beth fell to the floor. "I'm sorry but I told you that would happen."

Beth's vision was hazy, but she could tell already that Coraline sounded better. Slowly, Beth crawled back to the other side of the room. She huddled in the corner, leaning against the wall for support. "Just try to get some sleep," she heard Coraline say. She couldn't see much, but she saw a blurry version of Coraline's face over hers. "Thanks Beth." Then everything went black.

--

Mick sat in his apartment drinking a glass of blood thinking of his times with Beth. The first time he had seen her she had looked so scared, but he remembered her big blue eyes when she saw him when she was four years old. The hope she had in her gorgeous eyes when he came to rescue her and everything about those magnificent eyes now. He loved the way she looked at him even after knowing what he was. She didn't care. Beth knew he was a vampire but she still cared about him. It was a wonderful feeling when he hugged her that one time. Just to feel her warmth, the warmth of the woman he so desperately cared about, was the most amazing experience he had had in a long time. And the more he thought about Beth the more it made him fear losing her. If she was gone he would just be the same lonely vampire he was before.

But then his mind went to Coraline and the cure she had. Coraline had come back for him, and he had pretty much blown it in her face. He did care about her, and it was a great relief for him to find she was still alive. But what he had with her was a flame that started from the moment he saw her, but when she kidnapped Beth that flame had diminished almost completely. Still Coraline was his wife for a time. She was the woman that turned him, and why he hadn't appreciated at all what she did, he knew why she did it. Coraline had loved him, but he didn't love her anymore. There was still a tiny spark trying to ignite again, but now that this happened it would probably never happen. Even so Coraline was a part of his life and to know she was being hurt killed him. He had to save the both of them. Mick could not live with himself if Beth or Coraline died.

There was a knock at his door, and immediately he knew it was Josh. He really didn't want to answer it, but it could have something to do with the case so reluctantly, he did. Mick opened the door to be splashed in the face with water. "What the hell!?" he screamed. Wiping his eyes, he could see Josh standing there with a small bottle of water.

"Holy water," explained Josh.

"Why the hell did you splash holy water on me?" Mick glared at him looking as mean and pissed off as he could which wasn't hard considering he was really pissed off and wanted to rip this guys head off.

"It was supposed to burn you…" Josh's voice trailed off.

"What? Did you think I was a vampire or something?" Still Mick continued glaring at him. Mick was surprised to see the guy had figured it all out. Josh was obviously smarter than he looked. Mick would have to be more careful.

Josh stuttered a bit. "Well yeah…I looked up your records and it says you were supposed to be 85 years old and-"

"You know what I don't even care. We're just wasting time with this crap. Did you look up the name I asked you to?"

Josh didn't answer him at first. He appeared to be scolding himself for making such a stupid decision. "Uh what? Oh yeah…um Sarah Nelson was her name and she disappeared from an orphanage about ten years ago. No one has seen her since then."

_This is just getting worse and worse. _"Did you get the results of the DNA test?" There was nothing Mick could do about Sarah now except stop her.

"Yeah it belongs to a man named Rick Thompson." He handed Mick a file of papers. "The guy has a criminal history longer than…well I've never seen a history that long."

Mick quickly glanced through the files…Burglary, Assault…this guy had done everything that wouldn't get him life. "Hey does this Rick Thompson have a large van or truck?" he asked thinking of the tire tracks. They weren't from some small car.

"Actually I thought that might help so I looked it up. He drives a white van with the tag-"

"Listen get the cops searching for this van. We find this van we find Beth." Mick then grabbed his coat and keys and headed out the door.

"Where are you going?" inquired Josh.

"Out to look myself. The more people the better, and plus I can't just sit around doing nothing."

They came to the elevator. "But we don't have any idea where to look. Beth could be anywhere," Josh argued.

"Well my bet is that it's somewhere in the desert." Mick said that thinking of Coraline and the time he had spent out there. There was no better place to hold a vampire than the desert; it was a prison in itself.

"Should I go with you? Two eyes would be better than one out there," Josh put in.

The elevator door opened and they both walked out. Mick really didn't want Josh to come. The guy asked too many questions. "Uh...no. Don't you think it would be better if you searched in your own car? We could cover more ground. Plus you need to stay with the police." Then he left before Josh had the time to argue.

Mick rushed to his car. He would search the desert, but he would get some help that would be much better than Josh. Mick needed the help of another vampire and he knew just who to go to.

--

Beth opened her eyes to see Coraline sitting in front of her. She still didn't feel too great, but the sleep had helped. Slowly, she sat up. Coraline was watching her intently.

"Feeling better?" asked Coraline looking genuine.

Beth nodded. She had to admit she was surprised by Coraline. Before this Beth had thought of her as a horrible and cruel vampire, but now she was starting to see a different side of the vampire she hated. Of course with Coraline there was not telling if it was real or a trick. "Why are you acting so nice? I thought you hated me…" mentioned Beth.

Coraline had her arms crossed and was staring at the other side of the room. "Well there's no point in fighting," Coraline replied without emotion.

Grinning, Beth shook her head. That was a lie if she had ever heard one. "No, that's not the real reason. You're not as big and mean as I thought you were, are you?"

Coraline turned to look Beth in the eye. "What do you want from me?"

"I just want you to tell me why you're being so nice."

Rolling her eyes, Coraline turned away. "You thought I was some dreadful vampire monster didn't you?"

"Well you gave me no other reason to believe otherwise."

Coraline smiled. "Well I wasn't always that way, but you wouldn't know that would you?" She turned to Beth.

Beth shrugged her shoulders. "You could always enlighten me."


	5. Chapter 5

**Enjoy! Thanks for the reviews!****  
**

**Lost Things-Chapter 5**

Josh walked to his office feeling like a complete idiot. He had thrown holy water at a guy thinking that he as a vampire! Josh flopped down at his desk. _Josh get your head back on straight…vampires don't exist._ Vampires were monsters in horror movies or action movies. They were not real, were they? He had been so sure Mick was a vampire. The suspicious background was one thing, but then Josh remembered the cut Beth had gotten out in the desert _with Mick._ It looked just like two puncture wounds that a vampire could cause…if they existed. Everything seemed to point to Mick being a vampire. He still couldn't believe he was saying the words. Even in his head they sounded completely stupid.

"Josh Lindsey?" Josh looked up to see a short woman with brown hair and brown eyes standing at his doorway. The woman sounded like she meant business.

"Can I help you?" Josh asked, annoyed. This wasn't the time for visitors.

"Yeah I've got information concerning a Mr. Mick St. John. Information that I think you would be very interested in hearing." The woman came to the chair sitting in front of Josh's desk and took a seat as she through a file on his desk.

Confused, Josh picked up the file. There were pictures of Mick with some pretty woman with brown hair standing around, and then there was a picture of him jumping up some building like he had wings. There were more pictures of him from even before he met Beth. "What am I looking at?" Josh inquired.

"It's proof that vampires exist, and that Mick St. John is a vampire," explained the woman.

Josh turned to the last picture. It was a picture of Mick from a distance with snowy white eyes and long fangs. In disbelief, he dropped the file and glared at the woman. "I was right?" he whispered.

"Yeah," the woman said with a satisfied grin on her face.

"How did you know I was thinking about this?" questioned Josh. Either the woman had an impeccable sense of timing, or she had been following him.

"Well I was following Mick and saw you. I know you don't like him. It's understandable of course; the guy is competing for the love of a certain blonde reporter."

Josh's interest turned to anger when he realized what the woman was saying. "Why were you stalking him?"

"That's none of your concern, but I you do have a concern. You see I want you to get a sample of Mick's blood."

"Why me? You seem to know him better than I do."

"Well Mick wouldn't suspect you. He would…well he would know me."

"How the hell am I supposed to get a sample of his blood? And why do you want it?"

The woman smiled wickedly. "Because it's the ultimate proof of the existence of vampires. The pictures are one thing, but the blood is irrefutable. And there are ways to stop vampires. A stake through the heart will paralyze him. Don't kill him though; I want him alive."

Josh sighed and held on tightly to the arms of his chair. "What if I don't want to do it?"

Again a wide grin came over her face. "You will because I happen to have a certain thing or rather person that you're looking for."

Josh's eyes opened wide in realization. "What did you do with Beth?"

"Beth is fine for now at least. It really depends on how quickly Mick can find them, but if you don't get his blood I can make a phone call and let you listen to the sound of your girlfriend dying," threatened the woman.

"You're really going to blackmail a district attorney? What makes you think I won't have you arrested right now?" Josh inquired his voice shaky along with his body.

The woman stood up and adjusted her shirt looking completely comfortable. "Because I have some friends that are waiting for me to make a phone call in the next fifteen minutes. If I don't make that phone call they kill her anyway." Smiling, she walked to the door and then turned to face Josh. "So you can be the cause of your girlfriend's death or you can do a simple little task for me. Get me enough of Mick's blood to test. Oh and you have two days or she dies. Well that's if she makes it that long in the first place. And Josh don't bring the police into this. I even think I hear a siren and she's dead. I'll be watching by the way." Then the woman slipped out the door.

----

Mick waited in the living room of Josef's gigantic mansion. The old vampire was taking an eternity and Mick was rather impatient. Josef came into the room looking annoyed. "What the hell was so important? I was having a very important phone call. You know trying to come back to life is a hard thing to do." Josef flopped down on the couch in front of Mick. "So what's the big deal?"

"Beth and Coraline are missing," explained Mick simply. "And they're in a lot of trouble if I don't find them soon."

Josef's angry face turned interested but not worried. Mick expected this. Josef wasn't the kind of vamp to worry too much about others. All he cared about was himself. "Well that's not good," he said simply.

Mick frowned and sat up. "Yeah."

"Do you know who took her?"

"A girl named Sarah Nelson. I killed her mother and she's getting her revenge."

"Killed her mother eh? She must have the wrong vampire," taunted Josef.

"Surprisingly she has it right. Her mother was a vampire and I killed her. The girl was young and didn't know about her mother."

Josef threw his head back, laughing. "You screw things up so much for a vampire as careful as you."

Angry, Mick stood up. "Listen Josef I know I make stupid mistakes, but will you just please help me find them?"

Taking a deep breath, Josef looked down debating how to answer. "Fine. I guess I can't say no to you after what you did for me. I got myself into a tough situation and I'd be dead if it wasn't for you." Josef stood up slowly. "So let's go find them."

"Thanks Josef," said Mick as his phone began to ring. It was Josh.

"What?" Mick greeted, irritated. He was still annoyed with him from before.

"I need to come with you to look for Beth. I…" he paused thinking of a good way to lie, "…got a call from the kidnappers too. They said the police couldn't be involved or they would kill Beth," explained Josh fighting back tears.

"Sht," cursed Mick. "Ok I've got a friend that's going to help. You can go in your own car," Mick said.

"No," Josh protested, "my car's messed up." His voice was without emotion.

Mick cursed again in his head. The thought of having to ride with Josh was almost excruciating. "Whatever. I'll come pick you up from your office in about thirty minutes." Then he hung up.

"That was weird," Mick commented after he hung up.

"What?" Josef asked.

"He sounded scared almost," explained Mick.

Josef shrugged his shoulders. "He's probably just worried about Beth."

Mick glared at Josef in deep thought. Something wasn't right with Josh. Mick had been around a long time, and he could tell when someone was hiding something.

--

Beth watched Coraline curiously as the vampire explained why she was the way she was. "My sire was a nice person. She turned me when she found me near death but not wanting to die. She became my best friend, and I thought I could not live without her." Beth could hear the sadness in her voice. "Well she was an old vampire and had unfortunately acquired some enemies. Some of them were vampires but others were humans. So one night when we were feeding they found us. She saved me, but lost her own life because of it." A small tear rolled down Coraline's face, and Beth tried to fight feeling sorry for her. "She was my best friend, my sister. My whole world revolved around her, and after she died I had nothing, no one. I was an extremely lonely vampire. I did have some friends, but they were more just there. They weren't the kind of friends I could tell anything to. Anyway after she was killed my heart turned to ice out of hate and anger for those wretched things known as humans, the creatures that ripped away my only friend. So I would look for ways to make them suffer as I had because I hated them so much and I got good at it. I guess I got so used to acting heartless that I actually became heartless, and then I found Mick. I loved the way he looked at me. Most men went after me because of my looks, but he seemed to have a genuine curiosity in me; something that went beyond the way I looked. Somewhere in there my heart melted a little and I fell in love." Coraline paused, thinking about all the events in her life.

"So you turned him?" Beth asked trying to get her to continue.

"He said he'd love me forever so I thought as long as we were together he wouldn't care about anything else." She laughed a little. "Well needless to say he lied. I turned him hoping he'd make me feel less lonely but our time together was the loneliest I'd ever felt. He hated me for what I did, but I did it out of love. And when he tried to kill me I realized that he would never love me as I was so I came back human hoping to finally win him over, but it was too late. He was in love with you." Coraline turned to Beth with a strange look in her eyes. "You had stolen him from me after all I'd been through with him."

Beth took a deep breath taking in the story and Coraline's last words. "I'm sorry, but Mick and aren't in love," lied Beth. Even as she said the words she felt her stomach churn. Her heart knew it was a lie, but her mind believed the lie or tried to believe it.

"Oh really? Are you sure about that?" inquired Coraline with a sly look in her eyes.

Beth thought about her answer carefully. She could either lie to a vampire who would catch it or tell the truth. Either way probably wouldn't make Coraline happy. "No," answered Beth.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the long as ever wait. Enjoy chapter 6. **

**Lost Things-Chapter 6**

Josh's whole body was shaking when he hung up the phone after talking with Mick. It was frightening to talk with someone you knew wasn't human, was a vampire. The words still sounded strange no matter how Josh said them. Vampires weren't supposed to exist, and to hear the voice of one of the monsters sound so normal was horrifying.

Taking a deep breath Josh glanced at his watch. He needed to get to a store and get something like a stake. Mick had always been nice to him, and even though he was a vampire it was wrong to do this to Mick. Still Beth's life was in Josh's hands, and if he didn't hurt Mick she would die, and Josh would kill a whole army to make sure that didn't happen.

---

Mick pulled up to Josh's office building to find Josh waiting patiently outside. Josh slid uncomfortably into the car, and Mick immediately knew something was terribly wrong. Josh's heartbeat was racing out of control and Mick could sense unease with the D.A. "Are you ok?" Mick asked staring at the D.A. with an arched eyebrow.

Josh took a deep breath and turned to look Mick in the eye. He was surprised at how normal a monster could look. "My girlfriend's missing and could die at any moment. Do you really think I'm alright?"

Mick glared at him for a second longer. There was no doubt Josh would be upset about Beth, but that wasn't the reason for his unrest now. Something was wrong with him, something really wrong. "Fine," muttered Mick before driving off.

--

Beth awoke to see Coraline glaring at her from across the room. "Can I help you?" said Beth in an annoyed voice.

Coraline continued staring at her with a weird face. Beth sat up uncomfortably watching Coraline's every move. The vampire's chest was moving rapidly up and down, and Beth noticed Coraline's flawless skin was pale and her eyes were filled with lust. Coraline needed more blood, and Beth was too weak to give anymore. "Coraline?"

Still the vampire's gaze did not leave Beth. Then as fast as Coraline could she attacked Beth. Quickly Beth lifted her legs to block Coraline. She used all her strength to keep the crazed Coraline away from her. The vampire fought and fought but she was in too much of a weakened state to get passed Beth."CORALINE!" she screamed in an attempt to snap the vampire out of her hungry frenzy.

Suddenly Coraline froze and Beth saw fear settle into her big brown eyes. She fell to the ground and stared at Beth with a strange look. "I'm sorry Beth, but I just can't control myself much longer," she whispered.

Beth's breathing was out of control, and her whole body was shaking with fear. There wouldn't be much time left before Coraline was forced to feed on her. With the sunlight shining its awful rays through the top of the prison, and with the heat radiating off of the metal walls it wouldn't be much time at all. All Beth could do was hope that Mick was as good a P.I. as she thought he was.

--

Mick stared out at the endless abyss of desert. There was no telling where Beth was. There was a strong possibility she wasn't even in California or anywhere near here. The desert was a sea of sand that had her locked inside its strong grasp. He didn't even know if she was dead or not; all he could do was hope. If he got close enough to her perhaps he could grasp her scent, but with all the other scents clouding the air, that was an unlikely possibility.

Mick glanced at Josh who was staring out the window in complete silence. The man hadn't said a word since they'd been on the hunt for Beth or for some clue. Although it really wasn't much a hunt; they'd been on the road for four hours and there wasn't even a human, much less Beth. The sun was now beginning to fall behind the endless mountains in the distance.

Over time Josh seemed to have calmed down a bit, but Mick still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

A small diner came into view and Josh looked up. "Hey can we get something to eat?" He rubbed his stomach. "I'm starving," he asked with a shaky voice.

"Hey are you sure you're ok?" inquired Mick as they continued to approach the diner.

"Yeah I'm fine, well about as fine as I can be." He looked down and scratched the back of his neck nervously. "So what about that food?" Mick noticed him fiddling with something in his pocket. His P.I. senses were losing control. Why he actually went to the diner he would never know.

"Sure," Mick answered a little annoyed.

Mick pulled into the parking lot of the broken down diner. It looked like it was roach heaven, but it had an open sign on it, and Josh was human which meant he needed food. Mick looked out the driver's window at the crappy diner. "Are you sure you want to eat here?"

Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his chest and he felt his whole body go numb. He had been staked. He fell limply back into his seat. "What the?" he managed to gasp.

"I'm sorry Mick, but it's the only way I can save Beth. I have to get some of your blood," explained Josh with a guilty look on his face. He pulled out an empty syringe and pulled up Mick's sleeve, and then he pushed the needle into the underside of Mick's elbow. Blood filled the small syringe quickly.

Josh soon pulled the syringe out and looked at the dark blood as if it were some rare liquid. He covered the needle and put it in a small case that he also held in his pocket. Then Josh got out of the car and opened the back door. Quickly he pulled Mick's limp form into the back seat and took his place in the driver's seat.

"Beth's kidnapper came to me and told me if I got some of your blood and gave it to her Beth would be set free," explained Josh with a weak voice. "It's the only way. I think we both know we're not going to find her like this." Josh took a seat on the driver's side and turned the key. The ignition kicked on. Sighing Josh turned to look at Mick who was lying limp in the backseat. His eyes were wide open staring at the roof of the car. A less informed person would think he was dead. "I can't believe you're actually a vampire," whispered Josh before driving off.

Mick's body was on fire with rage. The second this stake got pulled out he would no doubt rip Josh's head off! His chest was throbbing horribly. When you got staked you couldn't move, but you could feel the nearly unbearable pain from the thick piece of wood sticking out of your heart. He was also worried about what Beth's kidnapper intended to do with his blood. More than likely she wanted to reveal vampires to the world. That was something he wouldn't, couldn't, let happen, but there was nothing he could now except wait, except wait for the hell that would result from whatever Sarah Nelson intended to do with his blood.


	7. Chapter 7

**Enjoy. Thanks for the reviews! **

**Lost Things- Chapter 7**

Mick watched in silence and pain as the sky turned from orange and pink to blue and black. The stars were shining in the sky, and almost right above his car the moon shined her beautiful light upon him.

It seemed like ages ago Josh had left the car to go do who knows what with his blood. Really it had been awhile ago, almost five hours to be exact, and still Mick was paralyzed in the back of his car. He was unable to do anything which killed him most of all. Beth was out there with her life in the hands of a vampire that was growing hungrier by the minute, and Mick was stuck paralyzed in the back of his car unable to do anything for her.

"Where the hell is he?" Josef's angry voice became apparent in Mick's ears. He was outside possibly a few feet away. "You don't call someone to help find your human girlfriend and then just totally disappear!"

"Josef!" Mick gasped, but his voice was barely above a whisper. There was no telling if Josef had heard it. All Mick could do was hope that vampires had as good of hearing as they thought they did.

"Mick? Are you in you're car?" Josef asked. Mick heard Josef's footsteps approaching the car. Soon he saw his best friend's face appear in the window above him. Josef laughed. "You idiot you went and got yourself staked!"

Mick wished he wasn't paralyzed so he could rip the idiot's head off. "Josef!" whispered Mick angrily.

"Alright, alright." Josef pulled the locked car door open with his vampire strength. Then he pulled the stake out of Mick's chest.

Mick gasped and glared at Josef. "You think you could have gone any quicker?" he complained as he sat up. His chest was throbbing and his body was slowly adjusting to being able to move again, but no matter how much he hurt, he had to hurry. Quickly, he crawled out of the backseat and into the driver's side. Thankfully Josh had left the keys. "Get in Josef!" ordered Mick.

"Uhhh…what now? I had a massage scheduled after this!" Josef protested.

Mick rolled his eyes. "Get in the car, or we might have to worry about more than missing a massage," explained Mick as he turned on the ignition.

"What the hell could be worse than that?"

"GET IN NOW! I'll explain when we get going."

Josef reluctantly jumped into the car, and Mick drove off. "Ok what the hell is going on?" demanded Josef as he glared at Mick from the passenger's seat.

"Josh staked me and got some of my blood. He's going to give it to Beth's kidnapper who's going to reveal our secret to the world," Mick explained quickly.

"You have got to be kidding me…Please tell my you're just playing with me Mick. Because if you are it's not very funny," said Josef in a low voice.

"I really wish I was, but this is serious."

"So where are we going?" he asked. "And please tell me it's to make sure that brainless D.A. meets a rather sticky end."

"We're going to stop him. Hopefully he hasn't given her my blood yet."

"Well that's a start," said Josef.

--

Beth sat huddled in the corner watching Coraline from across the room. The vampire that had kidnapped her when she was younger was now trembling in pain. Beth could not see her face, but she was lying down in the other corner looking horrible. Beth wanted to help, but there was nothing she could do for her. She didn't have enough blood to give to Coraline, and even if she did, Coraline would probably accidently drain her.

"Beth…?" It was Coraline's weak voice.

"Yeah?" answered Beth.

Slowly, Coraline turned over to face Beth. "You know I'm really sorry about what I did to you when you were younger. I just wanted Mick to love me," she choked. Her voice was so weak, and she looked so frail.

Beth looked at her in a confused way. "You're apologizing?"

Coraline took a deep breath It was so hard for her to breath. "Remarkably, yes." She looked at Beth with complete seriousness on her face.

"Well I accept your apology…I guess," said Beth. She wasn't sure if the vampire was being serious or if it was another trick.

"Will you do something for me?" Tears were forming in Coraline's yellow eyes.

"Uhhh…sure…," whispered Beth.

"Will you tell Mick I love him? Tell him that I've always loved him, but I'm not sorry for what I did to him." She gulped. Sweat was pouring down her pale face, and her beautiful brown eyes were yellow and looked almost looked cracked. "Also tell him that I hope he will be happy with you," she said in such a low voice Beth could hardly hear her.

Beth was stunned by her words. Never before had Coraline actually cared about someone else's happiness. Now her dying words were that she wanted Mick to be happy. "I'll tell him," replied Beth.

"You promise?" gasped Coraline.

Beth nodded. "I promise, but hopefully you can tell him yourself." Her voice was quiet and barely above a whisper.

Coraline smiled in a strange way. "I wish I could." Then she turned slowly back over, still trembling.

--

Mick and Josef had been silent almost the whole drive to Josh's apartment until Josef just had to break the silence. "You should have been more careful…you should have never fallen in love with a human," he muttered.

Mick rolled his eyes. "I wonder what Sarah Whitely would have to say about that."

Josef turned to Mick with utter disgust. "Don't you ever talk about her!" he yelled in anger. "Plus that was different."

Mick couldn't believe the way his best friend was acting. It was true Josef could be pretty selfish sometimes, but this was even beyond his standards. "Oh so it's ok for you to fall in love with a human but not me? Because I really don't see how it's different."

"Well for one I didn't threaten the species…," replied Josef. Mick rolled his eyes and was thankful when his phone began to ring.

"You know what Josef just shut up for the rest of the night." He looked at the caller ID and his stomach turned to knots. It was Josh. Taking a deep breath, he answered it.

"What the hell do you want?" he greeted cruelly.

"To help," answered Josh.

"I've think you helped enough. You just weren't helping me," said Mick.

"Well now it's time to change that. Come to my apartment and I'll explain." Then the line went dead.

--

Mick pulled up to Josh's apartment building to find him waiting outside. "Is that him?" asked Josef.

Mick nodded. "Don't do anything stupid," he warned. He pulled up beside Josh and rolled down the window.

"So how exactly are you going to help?" Mick inquired with curiosity and no respect.

A big grin came over Josh's face. "GPS," was his answer.

Mick was confused. If Josh had actually done what it sounded like he did then the D.A. was obviously smarter then Mick thought he was.

"When Beth's kidnapper came to pick up the blood I tagged their car. Hopefully they'll lead us to Beth," Josh explained.

Josh had made a huge mistake at first, but now we had definitely made up for it. Mick just hoped it wasn't too late, and that Josh was telling the truth. After what had happened about six hours ago Mick really wasn't in the mood to trust Josh.

"Why should I trust you?" asked Mick.

"Well either you trust me and we find Beth, or you don't trust me and she dies. Plus your secret gets revealed because you're never going to find this person without me."

Mick didn't want to admit it, but Josh was absolutely right. He had been searching for Beth almost three days now and had no luck. This was the only lead and he needed to follow it. He sighed. "Get in," Mick said. "But if you pull another stunt like you did before you're dead!"

"And it won't be a quick death either," Josef put in.

Josh smiled and hopped in the back seat. "Don't worry, you have my word."

--

Beth's eyes opened slowly to see Coraline's still form. She was still not facing Beth, but she didn't need to be. Already Beth had noticed that she was no longer trembling, and her body was as limp as stone. Something wasn't right. "Coraline?" Beth whispered. The vampire did not move. Beth didn't want to go near her for fear it was a trick, but for some unknown reason Beth didn't think it was. So slowly and carefully she crawled over to the vampire's unmoving body.

"Coraline?" she said again. She placed a hand on her bare arm. It was colder than ice. Beth could barely touch her she was so cold. "Oh my gosh," she murmured in fear. Slowly, she placed her hand on Coraline's shoulder and moved her body so she could see her face. The vampire's eyes were closed, and she had a peaceful look on her face. Beth felt a tear roll down her cold cheek, and her body tense up in fear. Coraline was dead.


	8. Chapter 8

**The next chapter is going to be the last one. I wrote this chapter kind of fast just so you know. Enjoy! **

**Lost Things-Chapter 8**

"You hate me don't you?" Josh asked suddenly. They had been following the van for almost an hour now, and there had thankfully been complete silence, until now. Mick was enjoying the silence, but Josh just had to ruin it.

"No, he loves you for staking him and stealing his blood and giving it to a human that intends on revealing the existence of vampires to the world. Wow that was a mouthful," Josef put in as he glanced at Mick with that weird smile he always got. Josef really was a complete jerk, but Mick had to admit Josh deserved it.

"You act like Mick's completely innocent. He's trying to still my girlfriend from me!" protested Josh. He was sitting in the backseat leaning with his arms crossed, staring at Josef angrily.

"Like anyone would blame her for that…" Josef fought back with.

Mick rolled his eyes. "Will you two shut up? This is bigger then Beth and me, Josh. There are tons of vampires out there that will be threatened because of your stupidity. And Josef…just shut up you're pissing me off."

"I did it to save Beth. There was no other way we were going to find her. This Sarah Nelson did her job well. You're a good P.I., but even you can't beat someone who has a good plan," said Josh.

"If it were up to me I would have just let Beth die…" Josef commented.

"SHUT UP!" Mick and Josh both yelled at the same time.

"Ok, I'm just saying. Is a girl really worth putting yourself and everyone else like you in danger?" he asked. Mick could tell Josef was serious this time. Every now and then he actually had one of those moments.

"Listen Josef he's already given this crazy woman my blood so we can't stop now. So I'd really appreciate it if you would just be quiet." Mick glanced at the rear view mirror to see Josh looking pretty angry in the back seat. He had guts; not just anyone could act like this around two people he knew were vampires. "That goes for you too Josh. I'm gonna rip the throat out of the next person that says something stupid," warned Mick. After that he took a deep breath and got his eyes back on the road.

--

Beth's breathing picked up as she back away from Coraline's body. Her whole body was going numb with fear. There was just no way Coraline could actually be dead. She was a vampire. Vampires weren't supposed to die this way. It just wasn't supposed to happen, and Beth couldn't help but wonder if Coraline was dead because of her.

The sound of the door opening snapped Beth out of her thoughts. The same woman that had done all of this to them came through the door with a strange smile on her face. "That really is a shame…," she turned to Beth, "I was really hoping she would kill you."

Sarah stared a Beth with a satisfied gin. She had successfully succeeded in killing one of Mick's loves and it wouldn't be too hard to dispose of the other. It was too bad Mick wasn't here to see it. The look on his face would be quite gratifying.

"You crazy btch!" Beth screamed before running and tackling Sarah to the ground. While she tried to regain her composure Beth realized this was her chance for escape. Quickly, she climbed to her feet and out of the room that had been her prison.

Outside the prison was a set of stairs. She ran up the stairs as Sarah finally got to her feet. The room Beth entered looked like some sort of office except it had pictures of Mick all over the walls and on the desks. There were also pictures of her and Coraline all over the place. This woman, whoever she was, had been stalking them!

Beth heard a noise behind her; she turned around to see a large fist coming at her. Beth was pushed into the desk from Sarah's punch. Near Beth's feet was a computer chair. She used her feet and pushed the chair at Sarah who stood before her. It didn't knock her down, but it gave Beth enough time to grab the computer keyboard and hit Sarah in the head as hard as she could.

Sarah fell to the ground looking nearly unconscious. Beth didn't waste time; quickly she ran out of the room only to come face to face with a very large man. "Well, well, well do we have here?" he snarled. The man looked scary. He looked like the type of man people in prison would be scared of. Beth didn't know what to do, but she did know where to kick a guy to make sure it was painful. So with all her might she lifted her knee and kicked him where it hurt most. The man fell to the ground in pain. "Ah! You stupid whore!"

Beth ran past him only to run into another man who picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She kicked and screamed as loud as she could, but he was way to strong for her weakened body. He brought her to the stairs and through her down them. She rolled down the stairs and stopped when she hit the large metal door. Beth's body ached when she reached the bottom of the staircase. It ached so much she couldn't move.

"Screw this. Just kill her." It was the woman's angry voice. Beth glanced up the tall staircase. The large man was all she could see. He pulled out a gun and aimed it at her. She tried to back up into the room, but her body was in too much pain. Then suddenly the guy was pulled backward, and Mick was standing in his place. He smiled at her before disappearing into the room.

--

Mick punched the man that was about to kill Beth. He flew back into the wall, unconscious. Another man he recognized from the file Josh had given him came running toward him. He was stopped though when Josef ran in and tackled him to the ground. As Josef got to his feet he smiled at Mick. "I didn't think you had it in you," remarked Mick.

"Well I tend to surprise people every once in awhile, even myself," replied Josef. Mick laughed and turned around when he heard a noise behind him. He felt a strong pain in his chest when he was staked by Sarah Nelson. He fell to the ground unable to move. Josef tried to run to his aid.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," interrupted Sarah. She pulled out a device that almost looked like a cell phone. "You see if you take another step I push a button and this whole place goes up in flames."

Josef froze. That same crazy grin was on his face. "Ok so where do we go from here? Do you have some sort of plan?" he asked.

She didn't have enough time to answer. There were two loud gun shots and she fell to the floor, dead. Josh came down the hallway holding a gun. "Wow wasn't expecting that," Josef laughed.

Josh went to Mick and pulled out the stake. "Does this make up for things?" asked Josh as he helped Mick to his feet.

"Lets just get out of here, and then we'll talk about forgiveness," said Mick. He went to the stairs to see Beth struggling to sit up. "Here let me help you," he said as he ran down the stairs.

Gently, he scooped Beth up into his arms. "Are you going to make it?" he asked her.

A small tear ran down her cheek. "Coraline's dead." It was all she could say at the moment; it was all she had really been thinking about.

The happiness Mick had once felt just a moment ago faded away immediately when he heard those words. "What?" Mick stuttered in shock. Josh soon came down the stairs followed by Josef.

"She's dead, she died because she wanted to make sure I lived," explained Beth. "I'm so sorry Mick."

Mick was in shock. His whole body was cold, colder than it normally was. "Where is she?"

"In there," Beth chocked. She was starting to cry even more.

"Are you ok?" he asked. He was hurt about Coraline, but Beth was the one that was still living.

Beth nodded. "I'm just a little banged up, but I'll be fine." Mick nodded and turned to Josh.

He placed Beth in his arms. "Take her to the car," he ordered. Josh had a confused look on his face, but he soon walked up the stairs carrying Beth.

Josef looked at Mick with a serious look on his face. "I'm sorry Mick," he whispered.

"Uh…can you just leave me alone for a second?" requested Mick quietly. He was trying to fight back tears. Josef nodded and walked back up the stairs.

When Mick was alone he turned to the door that he stood beside. He placed a hand on the cold metal handle and opened the door to see a dark room with the moonlight shining through the ceiling. He walked into the room that had been Beth's prison for the past few days. The smell of Beth's fear was in the room. It killed him to feel how frightened she was. Then he could sense Coraline's fear and her sadness. He turned to see her body limp on the floor.

Slowly, he knelt down beside her and picked up her ice cold hand. A small tear rolled down his cheek as he looked at the woman he once loved. He placed his hand behind her head and gently stroked her cold cheek. "I'm so sorry I couldn't get here quick enough," he whispered. More tears emerged from his eyes. He leaned over and placed a kiss on her cheek. "And I'm so sorry I broke your heart. A part of me will always love you though."He paused. "Goodbye Coraline."Then he sat up and backed away from her body. For a moment all he could do was stare at her wishing there was something he could do. After a minute or two he took a deep breath and stood up and picked up her body.

Coraline would always have a place in his heart. You couldn't love someone as he loved her and then just forget about it, but Coraline was the past and Mick thought she knew that. It was almost as if she just gave up on life because she couldn't have him anymore. Either way Coraline had saved Beth's life by allowing her to live, but she had done it at the cost of her own life.


	9. Chapter 9

**This is the end. I hope you enjoy it. **

**LOST THINGS-Chapter 9**

Mick held her body, Coraline's body, with as much care as he could. The others, Beth and Josh, had gone with the police when they arrived at the crime scene. Josef, who was supposed to be dead, was waiting in the car. There were a lot of things Mick liked to do by himself; this was one of those things. He wanted to take care of her body himself; he wanted to make sure it was done right.

The whole time he had been able to fight back tears, but as he held her cold and lifeless body in his hands he felt tears emerge from his eyes. Coraline wasn't supposed to be this way. This woman was usually filled with a fire and passion that no woman could compare to. Now it was as if she were stone. It killed Mick to see her this way.

He turned his head away from her body and glanced down the dark alleyway he was in. The Cleaner was standing at the end with a sympathetic look on her face. "Thanks for coming," Mick greeted as he came to her.

"Anything for my favorite vampire," she replied with a smile. She looked down at Coraline with big eyes. "So this is her? The woman who drove Mick St. John crazy?"

Mick looked down at Coraline's limp body. "Yeah…she was my wife, the woman who turned me into a vampire," he said.

The Cleaner was silent for a moment. "So you want me to dispose of the body?" she asked to clarify.

Mick winced at the way she said it. No, he did not want Coraline just disposed of; he wanted her body to be very well taken care of, but the cleaner was the only one who could help with dead vampires. This was simply the only way. "Listen I don't want her body treated like she was just some vampire. I want…I want…." He paused, unable to finish the sentence.

"I got it. We'll take care of it Mick. You're wife's body won't be treated like some piece of trash," she assured him. A man that worked with the Cleaner came from the side and took Coraline's body from Mick.

"Thanks for this," said Mick.

The Cleaner smiled in that weird way she did. "Come on Mick. It's what I do." She took a step closer to him. "Plus anything for you." Then she smiled once more and walked off into the darkness of the alleyway.

Mick stood there for a moment thinking about the first time he saw Coraline. She had looked so beautiful, so stunning, at that party in her bright red dress. Mick remembered everything about that night. Falling in love for the first time was not a memory you soon forgot, and Coraline definitely was someone he would never forget. He couldn't believe she was actually gone; it just didn't seem right. Never had he pictured Coraline dying in such away. She was a strong vampire, and he never would have thought she would go the way she did.

--

Beth gazed up at the ceiling of her hospital room. Never in her life had she liked being in hospitals. In fact she despised it more than anything else in this world. She hated the smell, the sounds, the sights, everything. Now she was forced to stay in one when she didn't even feel bad. Sure a few ribs were broken and she was a bit bruised up, but other than that and a minor case of dehydration she was fine. Staying in this stupid place was well…stupid!

She wanted to go to Mick; well really she needed to go to Mick. He deserved in explanation of what happened to his ex-wife, and Beth couldn't do that if she was sitting in a stupid hospital. "Feeling alright?" Beth glanced up to see Josh standing in the doorway of her room.

"Just peachy," she replied sarcastically.

Josh smiled and went to sit down on the side of her bed. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Beth was silent for a moment as she recalled the morning she had been kidnapped. Josh and her had gotten into a huge fight…they had actually broken up. She was glad that he had saved her life and everyone else's, but if they hadn't gotten into the fight in the first place she would never had been kidnapped. That meant Mick's heart would have never been broken because Coraline would have never died. Beth sighed. She wondered why things just had to be so complicated. "Well aside from the obvious…Mick lost someone really special to him." She knew there was no need to worry about mentioning Mick's secret. Josh had told her on the way to the hospital he knew what Mick was.

"Why should you feel bad for him?" Josh asked with a confused look on his face although he really knew why. He had known why for a long time now.

Beth smiled. "Because he's special to me, and it hurts to see him heartbroken." She stared at Josh with curious eyes wondering how he would reply to that. Obviously this was no big secret, but it was the first time she had actually said something.

Josh was silent for a moment. He could not look Beth in the eye. For awhile he knew this day had been coming, but it didn't make things easier now that the day was here. "Do you love him?" he asked, still not looking her in the eye.

The question made Beth's body tingle with a nervous feeling. She had been asking herself that question for awhile now, and her feelings now told her what the answer was. "Yes," she answered quietly.

Josh shook his head in disbelief. "So I guess we're over with?"

Beth smiled, defeated. "Yeah, I guess so."

"I knew this was coming." He stood up. "Well I guess it was nice while it lasted."

"Yeah it was," she replied.

Josh just stood there for a moment staring at her with wide eyes. Then he walked to the door and paused. "I hope you're happy with him. Just know all good things must come to an end one way or another." Then he left leaving Beth with a creepy feeling.

--

Mick stood silent outside Beth's door listening to the conversation. Beth was heartbroken for him and she…she loved him…she loved him! He couldn't grasp the words. The whole time he had known Beth never before had he actually imagined those words being real. Beth was in love with him, and it felt really good.

He was completely still when Josh stormed out of the room. Josh didn't even notice him he was so angry. Mick thought Josh was and ok guy, but at the moment he was too excited to care about hurting his feelings.

When Josh was down the hallway Mick slipped into the room. Beth looked a little depressed, but she still seemed like Beth. "Mick…" she said when he walked in. "How are you doing?"

"A lot better now actually," he replied as he went to stand beside the bed.

"I'm so sorry about Coraline," she said with a quiet voice. He could tell she really felt bad about it. "She wanted me to tell you she loves you."

"I know and it's ok. Coraline and I have been over with for a long time now." He paused and started playing with his fingers nervously. "A part of me will always love her, but it's time to give my heart to someone else," he said with a smile.

Beth's eyes went wide with embarrassment when she realized what he meant. "So you heard the conversation with Josh?" she asked.

Mick nodded. "I just wanted to tell you I felt the same way about you." He sat down on the edge of the bed. "For the longest time I didn't know what the feeling was but now I know it was love. I'm in love with you too Beth Turner."

As he spoke her could hear Beth's heartbeat speeding up, and it pleased him to hear her reaction. When he felt certain she would say no more he leaned over to kiss her on the lips, but right when their lips were about to touch his phone rang.

He rolled his eyes in annoyance as he stood up to answer the phone. It was the Cleaner. "Who is it?" Beth asked.

"Someone I need to talk to," he replied thinking of the special task he had given to the Cleaner. She smiled in understanding as he answered the phone. "What's the problem?" he greeted the Cleaner with.

"Are you sure that body you gave me was actually dead?" she asked with that usual calm voice she had.

Mick furrowed his brow in confusion. "You mean Coraline? Yeah. She couldn't have been alive."

The Cleaner was silent for a moment on the other line. "Well I guess she just fooled us both because she's gone," explained the Cleaner.

"What?" Mick asked. "What do you mean?"

The Cleaner sighed. "I turned my back away from her for one second and when I looked back she was gone. Obviously she wasn't as dead as we thought."

Mick bit his lip and just had to smile. It seemed Coraline had fooled everyone, and she wasn't really dead. Apparently she didn't want to go out in such a way either. "What's the matter?" asked Beth as Mick hung up with the Cleaner.

"I just got back something I thought I had lost," he replied.

"Well it helps when you find things, especially things you thought you lost," she said.

"Yeah, yeah it does. It also helps to find new things though," he said looking her straight in the eye. "Except you're way more than a thing Beth. You mean more to me than anything or anyone else ever has."

Beth smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too," said Mick feeling happier than he ever had before.


End file.
